World Cup bets on police radar
- Source: Global Times
- [10:26 June 29 2010]
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By Shen Weihuang
Betting away their paychecks on World Cup games, city slickers getting hooked on more than just their television sets these days need to keep the illegal activity under wraps if they are to avoid trouble with the police.
With the South Africa sports event in its knock-out round and football fever continuing to catch on with fans from every corner of the city, authorities said that police are prepared to take whatever action is necessary for those caught gambling.
"Any gambling activity turning a profit in the city, even if it is just friendly betting on the World Cup games, is against the law in China, and the organizers of such a crime can be sentenced for up to three years in jail," Lu Feng, a spokesman for the Shanghai Public Security Bureau, told the Global Times Monday.
Though no arrests have yet been made for cases involving illegal betting on World Cup games, authorities are minding the situation. Should such con-cerns come to their attention, officers will be sent to investigate, said Lu.
But the contagious spirit of the World Cup has persuaded a number of fans to go ahead and take the risk anyway.
"Most of my colleagues have gambled every night since the World Cup started," Zhuang Xinyuan, an employee at a state-owned company in the city, told the Global Times Monday. "They bet hundreds of yuan on every game."
"It's not like they're die-hard fans or anything, they just do it for fun," he added.
Others said that betting on the games gives them something to look forward to while passing the time.
"I ask some of the other drivers to help me lay down my wagers when I'm stuck on the roads during the night games," a cab driver for Dazhong Taxi Company told the Global Times. "I won 2,000 yuan ($298) from the match between Brazil and Cote d'Ivoire."
"I never thought to bet on any of the previous World Cup games, but it's actually pretty exciting, especially when I'm watching a game that I've put money on," he added.
